A second man has been charged with first-degree murder in the January 2012 shooting death of aspiring Toronto rapper Anthony Spencer.

Chever Ashley, 22, who was initially charged with accessory after the fact to murder, now faces charges of first-degree murder, armed robbery and aggravated assault in the Spencer case, after appearing in court Tuesday morning. Samuel Paul, 22, who had previously been charged with first degree-murder, is now also charged with armed robbery and aggravated assault.

A 20-year-old female suspect, LaPrincia Palmer, was charged in February 2012 with armed robbery and attempting to obstruct justice. She had turned herself in to police nearly two weeks after the incident.

Mr. Spencer, whose stage name was Tony Trapz, was shot in the chest at close range during a robbery at a recording studio on Brimley Road near Lawrence Avenue.

Police later released audio of the shooting that included a phone call placed by a woman identified only as “Ashley” to a Crown Taxi dispatcher just as the fatal shot was fired.

The victim’s body was driven to the Scarborough General Hospital front entrance by a group of people who quickly fled in separate vehicles. Mr. Spencer was pronounced dead shortly after 5 a.m. on Jan. 21.

Police believe the shooting may have led to three drive-by shootings in Malvern that took place shortly after his death. They also have speculated that Mr. Spencer’s rap lyrics may have indirectly led to the shooting.

Toronto police have made a third arrest in the fatal shooting of aspiring rapper Anthony Spencer last winter.

Toronto Police ServicesAnthony Spencer, 23, was driven to, and dropped off at, Scarborough General Hospital on Jan. at about 5 a.m. He succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

LaPrincia Palmer, 19, of Mississauga — who was sought under a Canada-wide warrant — turned herself in to police around 1:30 a.m. Thursday morning. She stands charged with robbery with a firearm and attempting to obstruct justice.

Police allege Ms. Palmer was involved in a robbery that led to the slaying of Mr. Spencer, 23, who died in January at an east-end basement recording studio.

Two other men face a host of charges in his killing, including Samuel Paul, 23, who is accused of first-degree murder, and Chever Ashley, 22, who is charged with being an accessory after the fact.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/police-make-third-arrest-in-shooting-death-of-rapper-anthony-spencer/feed0stdAnthony SpencerAnthony Spencer, 23, was driven to, and dropped off at, Scarborough General Hospital on Jan. at about 5 a.m. He succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital. Toronto Police charge two men in connection with January murder of Anthony Spencerhttp://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/toronto-police-charge-two-men-in-connection-with-january-murder-of-anthony-spencer
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Police were joined by the family of murder victim Anthony Spencer Tuesday to announce that two people have been charged in connection with his death.

Police allege that Mr. Spencer was robbed of his belongings at a recording studio on Brimley near Lawrence Ave. E. in Scarborough on Jan. 20, and was shot in the process, said Det. Sgt. Gary Giroux.

Related

Grainy surveilence footage, released by police in February, showed two men and one woman go down the steps into the basement recording studio at 799 Brimley Rd., known as The Dungeon, shortly after midnight on Jan 20. Four-and-a-half hours later, a woman then known as “Ashley” to police, called for a taxi that took her and the two men away from the scene. Audio recordings of the phone call were later released by police, which caught the sound of gunfire in the background.

The same surveilence camera later showed friends of Mr. Spencer take the body of the aspiring rapper and load him into the back of a waiting car.

The car dropped the body off at the front entrance of Scarborough Hospital, before fleeing, accompanied by a second car. Mr. Spencer was prounced dead shortly after 5 a.m.

The friends of Mr. Spencer were located by police, but provided little information despite being in the studio at the time of the shooting, said Det. Sgt. Giroux earlier this year.

At the time he attributed the lack of information to a “traditional code of silence” in the community.

The family of Mr. Spencer is hoping these arrests will encourage others to speak to police about what they might have seen.

“I’m hoping an arrest will give courage to these witnesses to step forward,” said Susan Spencer, Anthony’s sister.

The last 10 months have been “torture,” she said, knowing that some witnesses know more than they have revealed about the shooting.

A break in the case came when an unrelated firearms investigation uncovered a semi-automatic weapon. It was later determined to be the murder weapon.

Samuel Paul, 23, has been charged with murder and armed robbery. Chever Ashley, 22, has been charged with armed robbery.

Mr. Paul and Mr. Ashley have been in custody since January in connection with a firearms investigation.

Mr. Paul was involved with the local rap scene, and had attended the same studio as Mr. Spencer, said Det. Sgt. Giroux.

Police have also indentified the woman from the surveillance footage, and have issued a Canada-wide warrant for her arrest. Laprincia Palmer, 19, is wanted for armed robbery and attempting to obstruct justice in connection with the death of Mr. Spencer.

Ms. Palmer had spoken previously with police during the investigation, said Det. Sgt. Giroux.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/toronto-police-charge-two-men-in-connection-with-january-murder-of-anthony-spencer/feed0stdA photo released by Toronto Police Service of Anthony Spencer, 23, who was Toronto's fourth homicide victim of 2012.Video released of slain aspiring rapper being carried into waiting car the night he was shothttp://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/video-released-of-slain-aspiring-rapper-being-carried-into-waiting-car-the-night-he-was-shot
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A video recorded on the night Anthony Spencer was fatally shot apparently shows the aspiring rapper’s friends carrying him into a waiting car.

The security video was released on Tuesday by Toronto Police. It was recorded at 6:36 a.m. on Jan. 21 outside of the recording studio at 799 Brimley Rd., where police say Mr. Spencer was shot.

Police are appealing for the people in the video to come forward. The video shows five people carrying Mr. Spencer; three of them appear to get in the car, while two seem to go back into the studio.

Previously, authorities have said that the investigation into Mr. Spencer’s death has been hampered by what police call a “traditional code of silence.” The friends who were present at the studio at the time of shooting have provided little information to police.

While recording at the studio near Brimley and Lawrence, Mr. Spencer was shot in the stomach when a suspect or suspects entered, police say. After the shooting, he was driven to Scarborough Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Const. Tony Vella says he hopes that with the release of this tape, police will be closer to identifying the people involved.

On Feb. 10, Detective Sergeant Gary Giroux said that the two men believed to have killed Mr. Spencer were already in custody on unrelated charges. Police say they need eyewitnesses to come forward before they can lay murder charges.

National Post, with files from Jesse Mirsky

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/video-released-of-slain-aspiring-rapper-being-carried-into-waiting-car-the-night-he-was-shot/feed0stdPutin chooses to be Russia's president, and Putin gets what Putin wantsA still from the video released by policePolice release second photo of person of interest in Anthony Spencer murderhttp://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/police-release-second-photo-of-person-of-interest-in-anthony-spencer-murder
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Toronto Police The woman in question.

Toronto Police released a new image Thursday of a woman they believe is either a witness, or a party to the murder of 23-year-old Anthony Spencer.

Mr. Spencer, a rapper who used the stage name Tony Trapz, was in a recording studio near Brimley Road and Lawrence Avenue Jan. 21, when he was shot at close range in the stomach around 4:30 a.m., police said. His friends drove him to Scarborough General Hospital shortly after the shooting and then fled.

The new image of the woman, known to police only as “Ashley,” shows her more clearly than in footage released last week.

She has been described as dark haired with light-black skin. Police said she’s about five feet tall and 100 pounds, with a petite frame.

“I certainly would suggest that her loyalty is with [the killers] at this point, unless she hasn’t seen the picture or somebody who knows her hasn’t communicated with her that her picture is in the paper,” said Detective Sergeant Gary Giroux. “I have to maintain the investigative assumption that she’s hoping she doesn’t get identified, or she’s hoping that we don’t come to her first.”

Shortly after 12:00 a.m. on the night of the murder, a local business’s surveillance footage captured the woman, along with two men, entering the basement recording studio, also known as “The Dungeon,” where Mr. Spencer was making music. At 4:32 a.m., she called for the taxi that took her and the two men from the scene.

Det. Sgt. Giroux advised the woman to “get a lawyer and to come forward,” last week.

Mr. Spencer’s murder has been linked to three drive-by shootings in Malvern that occurred after his death last month.

He also told reporters the two men believed to have killed Mr. Spencer are already in custody, having been arrested on unrelated charges. Police say they cannot lay murder charges until an eyewitness comes forward.

Mr. Spencer’s murder has been linked to three drive-by shootings in Malvern that occurred after his death last month.

Toronto Police ServicesAnthony Spencer, 23, was driven to, and dropped off at, Scarborough General Hospital on Jan. at about 5 a.m. He succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

By Jan Vykydal and Tristin Hopper

A chance recording of a phone call for a cab caught the sound of the gunman as he fired into rapper Anthony Spencer’s chest. The caller, a woman known to police only as “Ashley,” was upstairs as the murder took place in a Scarborough recording studio on Jan 21.

The phone call opens with a sudden bang, believed to be the fatal shot. “Hi, can I have a cab to Omni Convenience Store please?” Ashley says only a second later, referring to the market above Mr. Spencer’s studio.

“We have an order here for an Ashley — he should be there in five to 10 minutes,” responds a Crown Taxi dispatcher.

Within minutes, Mr. Spencer’s bloodied body was dropped off in the front entrance of the Scarborough Hospital by a group of Mr. Spencer’s friends, three men and a woman — all of whom immediately fled the scene in two separate vehicles. The 23-year-old aspiring rapper was pronounced dead just after 5 a.m.

He was only the first target in a quartet of late January shootings that police say are “definitely connected.”

Toronto Police released an audio tape of the call on Tuesday, saying Ashley holds the key to solving the murder. “She’s either a witness to the offence, or she’s a party to the offence, and she needs to decide,” said Detective Sergeant Gary Giroux on Tuesday, advising the woman to “get a lawyer and to come forward.” He said the two men believed to have killed Mr. Spencer are already in custody, having been arrested on unrelated charges. However, police say they cannot lay murder charges until an eyewitness comes forward.

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Just after midnight on Jan. 21, a neighbouring business’s surveillance footage captured Ashley, along with two men, entering Mr. Spencer’s basement recording studio. Periodically throughout the night, the petite woman, described as black with dark hair and a light complexion, emerges to make a cell phone call — or simply to look around. Finally, at 4:32 a.m., she calls for the taxi that takes her and the two men from the scene.

“I’ll have to assume by [Ashley’s] silence and by her actions on the video — her failure to come forward — that I would make the investigative assumption that she’s a party to the offence of murder, and that she was with the offenders willingly and was a willing participant to the murder of Anthony Spencer,” said Det. Sgt. Giroux.

Police have speculated that Mr. Spencer’s rap lyrics could have unwittingly led to his death. “Oftentimes rappers may direct or indirectly say or do something in their lyrics that may very well offend somebody, and disrespect is a motive for murder,” said Det. Sgt. Giroux.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VuNgICm2ms&w=640&h=390]

Police say three drive-by shootings in Malvern last Friday and Saturday are directly related to the death of Mr. Spencer, but without witnesses coming forward their investigation has been stalled.

Throughout, investigators have been met by a wall of silence in the community, particularly from the group of four who dropped Mr. Spencer off at the hospital. “You invite people into your life to share parts of your life, to share memories. You are supposed to have each other’s back,” Mr. Spencer’s sister, Susan, said at a press conference last week. “Please show your loyalty in coming forward and bringing forth the person who is responsible for taking my brother’s life.”

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/anthony-spencer/feed0stdAnthony Spencer, 23, was driven to, and dropped off at, Scarborough General Hospital on Jan. at about 5 a.m. He succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital. ‘He’s not just a name in a newspaper, he’s my baby brother:’ Victim’s family pleads for witnesses to come forwardhttp://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/hes-not-just-a-name-in-a-newspaper-hes-my-baby-brother-victims-family-pleads-for-witnesses-to-come-forward
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Toronto Police handoutAnthony Spencer, 23

The family of homicide victim Anthony Spencer are pleading with witnesses to speak up and tell police about the night the aspiring rapper, whose stage name was Tony Trapz, was “basically executed.”

“I’m asking, I’m begging, anyone, especially his friends, he invited you into his life, come forth and tell us who’s responsible for taking my brother’s life,” a defiant Susan Spencer, the victim’s older sister, said at a press conference on Tuesday morning.

Mr. Spencer, 23, was making music in an recording studio near Brimley and Lawrence early last Saturday morning when a suspect or suspects, entered the building and shot him at close range in the stomach, police said.

His friends put the wounded Mr. Spencer into a car and drove him to Scarborough Hospital. A second car driven by another group of friends made the trip as well. The victim was left at the hospital while everyone else fled.

Mr. Spencer, the father of a three-year-old girl, died at the hospital.

“We can come together and fix this. Our family needs closure, his daughter needs closure and the person responsible for this, I think you need closure,” Ms. Spencer said.

Detective Sergeant Gary Giroux, the lead detective in the case, said police have not ruled out the possibility that the lyrics of Mr. Spencer’s songs could have provoked the attack.

“Oftentimes rappers may direct or indirectly say or do something in their lyrics that may very well offend somebody, and disrespect is a motive for murder,” Det. Sgt. Giroux said.

Police have located the cars and interviewed the friends who drove the victim to the hospital. The friends provided little information, despite the fact that they were in the studio at the time of the shooting.

Det. Sgt. Giroux says that’s likely because of a “traditional code of silence” within the community.

“This witness appeal is not being made directly towards the general public. It’s being directed at the personal friends and associates of Anthony Spencer,” Det. Sgt. Giroux said.

Police have not yet entered the recording studio at 799 Brimley Rd., but a search warrant should be issued within the next 24 hours.

Once there, police will look for shell casings, blood and hair fibers, but they’ll also be looking for any recordings from that night which may have captured any evidence.

Mr. Spencer was not known to police prior to the shooting. To their knowledge, he was not involved with a gang.

Many of Mr. Spencer’s recordings and videos can be seen on YouTube.

These videos refer heavily to gun violence and drugs. In one, Mr. Spencer, dressed in black and smoking what looks like a cigar, speaks to a shaky camera. At one point he states, “I’ll shoot you in the face.”

His sister Susan emphasized the pain her family is experiencing and their need for closure.

“Please come forward,” she said. “He’s not just a name in a newspaper, he’s my baby brother.”

National Post

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/hes-not-just-a-name-in-a-newspaper-hes-my-baby-brother-victims-family-pleads-for-witnesses-to-come-forward/feed5stdTrans fats to be phased out of U.S. food supply, Food and Drug Administration announcesAnthony Spencer, 23